Abhanga 3888
Tukaram calls out to God however comes naturally, unconcerned with appearances, because nothing else brings real contentment, singing his whole life to God the way a daughter cries for her childhood home.
The verse
आवडेल तैसें तुज आळवीन । वाटे समाधान जीवा तैसें ॥१॥
नाहीं येथें कांहीं लौकिकाची चाड । तुजविण गोड देवराया ॥ध्रु.॥
पुरवीं मनोरथ अंतरींचें आर्त । धायेवरि गीत गाई तुझे ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे लेंकी आळवी माहेरा । गाऊं या संसारा तुज तैसें ॥३॥
Literal translation
Call-as-I-please — jīva-finds-samādhāna. No-laukika-chāḍa — without-you-no-gōḍa-Devarāya. Fulfill-manōratha-antara-ārta — sing-to-the-full. Tukā: daughter-cries-māhera — let-us-sing-samsāra-to-you-thus.
What it means
A 3-verse informal-singing text. I shall call out to you as it pleases me — just so my soul finds contentment. There's no concern for worldly approval here — without you nothing is sweet, Devarāya. Fulfill my mind's-wish, my inner-yearning — let me sing of you to the full. As a daughter calls out to her natal-home, so let us sing our samsāra to you. The closing lēnkī-āḷavī-māhera (daughter-calls-out-to-natal-home) is the same trope as 3884 (pāvalōm-Paṇḍharī my māhera) — Paṇḍharī as the bhakta's natal-home, Viṭhṭhal as the mother.
For someone today
Tukaram gives himself permission to talk to God however comes naturally, not for the sake of appearances or approval, but simply because that's what actually settles his own restless heart. He isn't performing devotion to be seen; nothing else feels sweet or satisfying except this connection, so he stops worrying about how it looks. He asks God to fulfill the deep, honest longing inside him and let him sing freely, as fully as possible. He compares it to a daughter crying out for her childhood home, that same open, unguarded longing is how he wants to sing about his whole life to God.
मराठी: तुकाराम स्वतःला मोकळेपणाने देवाशी बोलण्याची मुभा देतात, दिखाव्यासाठी किंवा मान्यतेसाठी नाही, तर फक्त यामुळेच त्यांच्या अस्वस्थ जीवाला समाधान मिळते म्हणून. ते दाखवण्यासाठी भक्ती करत नाहीत; या नात्याशिवाय काहीच गोड वाटत नाही, म्हणून हे कसे दिसते याची चिंता ते करत नाहीत. ते देवाला विनंती करतात की त्यांच्या मनातील खरी, प्रामाणिक आर्तता पूर्ण करावी आणि त्यांना मनसोक्त गाऊ द्यावे. ते याची तुलना मुलगी माहेरासाठी आर्ततेने हाक मारते त्याच्याशी करतात, तशाच मोकळ्या, निखळ ओढीने ते आपले संपूर्ण आयुष्य देवासमोर गाऊ इच्छितात.
Where this applies
- When you're worried about how your prayers or expressions of faith might look to other people
- When nothing in daily life feels satisfying and you realize only one relationship or connection truly settles you
- When you want to express deep longing honestly instead of performing it for an audience
- When you find yourself missing home or someone dearly, the way a grown child aches for their childhood family